In one of the largest police shakeups since the fall of the Awami League government three months ago, Baharul Alam has been appointed as the new Inspector General of Police (IGP), while Sheikh Sajjat Ali will take over as the Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).

Baharul Alam, a retired officer from the 1984 batch of the Bangladesh Civil Service (Police) cadre, was selected for the top post on Wednesday, replacing the incumbent police chief, Md Mainul Islam. Alam’s appointment marks the second major change in the police hierarchy since the fall of the government in August.

Sheikh Sajjat Ali, also a retired officer from the same batch, will succeed Md Mainul Hasan as the DMP Commissioner. Both Alam and Sajjat will serve for the next two years.

Baharul Alam has had an extensive career, including serving as the former head of the Special Branch of police. He also worked as a police liaison officer in the Peacekeeping Division at the United Nations Headquarters from 2009 to 2013, and as a senior police advisor for the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Afghanistan in 2015. Additionally, he held roles in Croatia, Serbia, Kosovo, and Sierra Leone. Despite being passed over for promotion twice, he retired in 2020.

The police reshuffling comes after the fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime on August 5, which led to the disappearance of then-IGP Chowdhury Abdullah Al-Mamun. The following night, Md Mainul Islam was appointed as the new IGP, and Md Mainul Hasan took over as DMP Commissioner on August 6 after serving as the deputy inspector general of the Criminal Investigation Department.

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